brrfandomcom-20200214-history
SOTA c10s01
Text Luna shifted uneasily back and forth as Celestia and Twilight Sparkle both sat on either side of Scrivener Blooms, studying him intently as their horns glowed. The stallion was trembling faintly, his eyes closed as he sat on a cold metal grate in the middle of this large, empty stone room in the deep sub-levels of the Thorn Palace. It was stone and cold and moss grew in large tracts along the slimy walls, torches burning with sapphire flames mounted on rusting sconces in the walls. High above, water dripped down on occasion from the thick, solid grating that served as the roof, which rattled every so often as demons strode over it. This ceiling was maybe thirty feet above their heads at the top of the cylindrical room, and did not at all help Luna in feeling like they were anywhere but a deep, dark abyss of a well. Scrivener cursed under his breath, arching his back slightly as Celestia's horn glowed a bit more intensely, and then she glanced quickly over at Twilight Sparkle, who halted in her own examination of the stallion's form, sitting back and frowning anxiously as the ivory mare stepped closer and reached up to rest a hoof on Scrivener's shoulder, slowly drawing her gaze down along his back. “Here. This is strange.” Celestia said quietly, and Scrivener groaned as part of his back glowed: the spell pricked through his flesh like needles, made his nerves fizzle and the corruption in his veins boil as the ivory mare murmured: “I can't tell how old this is, but there's definitely something here...” “Please kill me.” Scrivener wheezed, and Twilight sighed and glared at him as Luna grumbled and shifted awkwardly: the pain wasn't so bad that she was feeling it as well, but with how sore Scrivener was after being thrown down four flights of stairs, she couldn't completely blame him for complaining. “I... is this why...” “All I know, Scrivener, is that whenever Valthrudnir is involved, we have to look at every possible option, no matter how unlikely.” Celestia soothed gently, and Scrivener closed his eyes even as he cursed quietly under his breath again as he felt something... shift faintly inside himself, and then Luna groaned as well as Scrivener's eyes bulged and watered when it felt like Celestia gripped and moved something in his back with telekinesis. “But these...” Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat hurriedly, and Celestia glanced up before blushing slightly and letting the glow die out from around her horn when she saw the pain the two were in. The violet mare relaxed after a moment herself, shifting a little: it had hurt enough that she had felt the tingle of discomfort through her link with them too. Luna mumbled and shifted, and Scrivener twitched a few times, shaking his head out before he rolled his shoulder and winced, teeth grit. Celestia studied him, the way he was moving, before she reached up and touched his back as she asked quietly: “What's wrong?” “Feels like something is... out of place in there, I guess, I... it doesn't hurt but it doesn't feel... right, you know?” Scrivener muttered, and Celestia nodded slowly as the stallion shifted back and forth, then shook his head and mumbled as he finally forced himself to settle: “Well, hopefully it'll just... go away. What were you saying though? I... is it... do you think...” “No, I don't think Valthrudnir has anything to do with these formations. They look older, actually.” Celestia gently pushed along Scrivener's back, studying his reaction, and when Scrivener tensed up with a faint wince as she pressed near his shoulderblade, she asked quietly: “There?” Scrivener nodded, and Celestia looked at him thoughtfully before questioning: “Will you please move your leg around a little? Stretch out and around in a circle if you can, Scrivener Blooms, I'd appreciate it.” The stallion looked over his shoulder at her, nonplussed, and then he finally shrugged and moved as she'd instructed him, as Luna grumbled and then said flatly: “If thou desired to play Stallion Says... or more likely, 'I-Am-Queen-Celestia-All-Must-Do-As-I-Decree...' thou should just go ahead and ask us to indulge thy sick fantasies.” Celestia ignored her younger sibling as she felt the tender point on Scrivener's back, her head bowed forwards and eyes closed as she frowned a little to herself. Twilight looked on worriedly as Scrivener continued to move his front leg in slow, wide circles, asking apprehensively: “Do I... I mean...” “Yes, that's good for now, Scrivener, thank you. Now if you don't mind, your other foreleg.” Celestia moved her hoof to Scrivener's other side, and the stallion looked over his shoulder at her worriedly, but the ivory mare gave a faint smile, saying quietly: “I don't think... it's anything bad. Just something that's likely gone unnoticed because we never had reason to check for it. Please, Scrivener.” The stallion sighed after a moment, then he nodded gloomily and began to repeat the process of making slow circles with his other front limb, as Twilight asked apprehensively: “What is it, Celestia? And are you sure Valthrudnir doesn't have anything to do with this?” “I can't say anything for sure yet, Twilight. Don't worry, I'm not going to keep any secrets, especially not when it's Scrivener's own body we're working with. I think this is from when... Scrivener became a Clockwork Pony.” Celestia's voice dropped almost imperceptibly in volume, and the stallion closed his eyes as Luna looked up sharply and Twilight's frown deepened. Then the ivory mare shook her head before stepping back, saying quietly: “Thank you, Scrivener, that's enough. Now, I'm going to cast a translucency spell on your back. I know it's... unpleasant to feel, but this is important.” The stallion nodded hesitantly, and then he lowered his head forwards and gritted his teeth as Luna grimaced in distaste and then strode towards them, muttering: “Wonderful. Stuck in the bottom of a filthy well while my older sister tortures my husband, who was earlier possessed and emotionally mauled by a vicious bit-” Scrivener glanced up sourly, and Luna cut her own words off with a grumble, nodding after a moment before she turned towards Twilight and buried her face firmly into the Lich's neck, making the violet mare smile faintly despite herself before she held out a hoof, offering it to Scrivener. The stallion smiled after a moment, taking this with a quiet sigh as he nodded a little... and then he gritted his teeth with a curse, a shiver rolling through his body as he felt the nerves all along his upper back lighting up with pain. Luna grimaced herself, her wings fluttering uncomfortably as she buried her face deeper against Twilight, and the Lich breathed a bit harder and looked worriedly over Scrivener's shoulder at Celestia, squeezing Scrivener's hoof firmly. Spells like this were normally used only on inorganic objects because they forcibly thinned and modified the molecular structure of what was enchanted so light could pass through, essentially making the object transparent. In other words, what Scrivener Blooms felt right now was very much akin to having layers of skin, flesh, and everything else Celestia had to go compressed and stripped away, even if they were still physically 'there.' Then Celestia nodded sharply, murmuring: “There, I found it...” A pause, and then said licked her lips nervously before saying quietly: “I'm sorry about the pain, by the way.” “Well it's nothing worse than-” And then Celestia flicked her horn sharply as she yanked on whatever she had found with telekinesis, and Scrivener arched his back with a loud howl of pain as black mire burst in all directions from Scrivener's back, and Luna let out her own yelp as she tumbled against Twilight and clutched tightly into the Lich, before turning a furious glare on her older sibling. Twilight flinched violently as well as she clutched into Scrivener's hoof, gasping as she felt a brush of pain along either side of her spine, and at the same time several stitches popped loose over her body from the strain of whatever had just happened. Then she turned her own look on Celestia, but her eyes were more surprised than frustrated, even as Luna sat up and shouted: “And what in Helheim's name did thou just do?” “I don't know if I accept your apology, Celestia. That pain was a little more intense than expected.” Scrivener wheezed as the enormous blast of pain quickly thinned down to a faint, pointed throbbing. He glanced back at her, but the ivory mare was only looking at him silently before the stallion frowned and let go of Twilight so he could turn slowly around, asking nervously as he felt more than a flutter of concern run through his chest: “What? What is it?” But now he could sense Luna and Twilight staring as well, and Scrivener shivered a bit as he caught flickers of the image from the sapphire mare before he slowly craned his head around as much as possible, staring in disbelief at his back... and the bony pistons that jutted out along either side of his spine, slowly dripping the black corruption that ran through Scrivener's body and served as his blood. He mouthed wordlessly at the sight of this, then shook his head weakly before turning his eyes to Celestia again, and the ivory mare shook her head before clearing her throat and saying finally: “I... I think they must have grown in during your... your transformation, before you went to Decretum. But the fact they never... surfaced... that's good.” “Then what in Helheim's name possessed thou to think it a good idea to forcibly yank them out of mine husband's back?” Luna shouted, staring incredulously at Celestia as Scrivener slowly opened his mouth... then figured moodily that no, he was going to let Luna speak her piece on this one after all. “For the love of all that is holy and most of that which is not, does thou think this is like... like a hat? Bones are not hats, Celestia! When one pierces bones through flesh, thou cannot say, 'oh I do not feel like having this bone sticking up from my curvy backside today, I shall remove it and place it upon the bone rack,' bones do not work this way!” Twilight slowly turned to stare at Luna as the sapphire mare breathed hard in and out, and Celestia slowly closed her eyes before shaking herself briskly, as if to try and clear her mind as she said slowly and carefully: “I know, sister. But... after what happened to Scrivener today, we need to... to take a full account of his body and form. Valthrudnir must have had an objective with whatever he was doing... we know that he always has some purpose, some motive, to what he does.” “And ripping my husband's... spiny-thingies through his back is going to uncover that evil objective? We already know Scrivy is a... a Clockwork Pony!” Luna stumbled a little, her lower jaw trembling a bit before she gritted her teeth and dropped her head forwards, mane sparking violently as it swirled and sizzled around her. Twilight reached up and touched her shoulder as Celestia glanced away, looking almost ashamed, and as Scrivener looked at his soulmate softly, Luna muttered: “Pity me not. 'Tis just... frustration. I am frustrated, and it has been a long day, and I wish to curl up and cry and eat many baked treats with jam and drink coffee. Not... mope at the bottom of the well with... my big, bossy sister being... bossy. And stuffy. Thou art bossy and stuffy and fat, Celestia.” “I know, Luna. I know.” Celestia sighed softly, smiling faintly before she leaned carefully forwards, and Scrivener glanced awkwardly up at her before the ivory mare nodded slowly: “It looks as if the... the pistons, are already receding into your back, though, Scrivener Blooms. Do you feel it?” Scrivener hesitated, then shifted awkwardly, and he winced a bit as he felt the bony spikes move... no, Celestia was right. They were bone pistons, strange protuberances he wished direly looked more alien to him... except he had seen bones like those before, in his nightmares and in reality. They were the same bone structures as Tyrant Wyrms had. “And I was supposed to become one of those...” He didn't realize he'd spoken out loud until he saw Celestia's sympathetic look, and the stallion hurriedly shook his head, clearing his throat and looking up as he said finally: “No. No, it's okay, I... I do feel it, yeah. Like they're sliding back into place wherever they were... hidden.” He closed his eyes, grimacing a little as he muttered: “Just wonderful. Well, I'm already a monster, so I guess it shouldn't be anything... bothersome.” He shifted lamely, then Celestia said quietly: “You're not a monster, Scrivener... in fact, none of you are.” She drew her eyes slowly up, past the stallion and over Twilight Sparkle, then Luna as the sapphire mare smiled faintly. “I don't believe any of you are going to become monsters, either. As you all taught me... we decide who we become.” She stopped, then shook her head slowly, her amethyst eyes sliding back to meet Scrivener's chestnut irises. “We need to monitor you, and to test you further. When we did it before, we were only interested in exterior changes... now I want to do much more than that. It will be uncomfortable, but I believe it's necessary, and we should make sure we do it as soon as possible, before we leave on our mission for Kvasir.” “Why?” Scrivener couldn't stop from asking, and when Celestia gave him a mild look, he shook his head awkwardly, rephrasing after a moment: “No I mean... I know why, I mean, why is it so important we get it done so quickly? You don't think...” “I don't know what to think, Scrivener.” Celestia replied quietly, and the stallion sighed a little and lowered his head, making a bit of a face before the ivory mare added after a moment: “Try and... think of it as humoring me, that's all. But we can stop for now, if you want... I know little sister doesn't like it down here.” Luna grumbled moodily, glowering as she said sourly: “Oh, aye, talk as if 'tis all my fault, Celestia, really. I simply do not understand why we had to hold this palaver here, in these empty cells. They speak more of imprisonment than healing.” “I know, little sister, but... it's because of the draw you and Scrivener have over many of the residents of Subterra... these walls are all shielded with iron, meaning demons can't pass through as they please.” Celestia said gently, and Luna grumbled a little under her breath before the ivory mare added softly: “And you wouldn't want demons hurrying around us, trying to help or watch or perhaps... touch Scrivener's blood, right?” “I'd like some of Scrivy's blood.” called a voice loudly, and Scrivener sighed tiredly as he looked mildly towards the heavy, plated door, a familiar pair of burning blue eyes looking moodily into the cell through the small window slot. “Hey, let me in. The tumor wants to know what the hell's going on with you guys.” Scrivener rolled his eyes and Luna huffed a bit, saying dryly: “I would like to take this opportunity to point out, Pinkamena, that if any of us have some semblance to a tumor 'tis thou. Thou came out of Pinkie Pie's brain, foul demon.” The door rattled violently as Pinkamena kicked it hard before she responded grumpily: “Hey, screw you, Nightmare Moon. We've been over this, anyway, I was the one here first and Pinkie Pie is the goddamn tumor.” Celestia only shook her head, then flicked her horn absently, and the iron door clanked loudly before swinging open. Pinkamena grunted as she strode in through this, kicking it closed behind her before her eyes widened slightly at the sight of Scrivener, and the still-visible spikes jutting from his back. She approached almost eagerly, and the stallion winced a bit as the gray-pink mare reached quickly up to rub a hoof along the stallion's back and around the bone spikes, muttering: “Well, look at what we have here... Scrivy, you wonderful bastard, you didn't tell me you were trying to go full out monster now. Doesn't surprise me that Princess Sunshine's helping you out, though.” Scrivener only sighed tiredly, and Twilight shook her head, saying softly: “No, we... we weren't doing anything like that, Pinkamena. These were already here...” “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Pinkamena said dismissively, then she glanced down at her hoof, seeing the fresh, dark blood over it before leaning down and licking it slowly, smacking her lips and grinning slightly. “This tastes pretty recent to me, though. And deny it all you want, but don't think we don't all see it. Scrivener already makes a great monster, after all... and there's no shame in finding a little excitement and happiness in that. We're all freaks here.” Twilight only shifted uncomfortably as Celestia looked silently at Pinkamena, but the demon only shook her head before standing side-by-side with Scrivener, grinning over at him as he looked at her moodily, their eyes locking. “Take it from somepony who knows. It's hardest halfway... either be or don't be, stop your goddamn fence-sitting. You understand that, don't you?” Scrivener nodded after a moment, and Pinkamena licked her lips slowly before leaning in and biting into the side of his neck. Scrivener winced, and Luna stiffened, glaring and shifting a bit... but it was clearly something more than just the pain she was causing that was riling up her emotions, even as teeth marks formed on the side of her own neck. Dark blood dripped into Pinkamena's jaws, the demon drinking this back like fine wine before she drew away and licked her lips slowly, a few black streams rolling down her chin as she shivered once. Her breathing quickened, and her skin seemed to ripple as her hooves ground lightly against the stony floor, before she murmured: “Delicious as always, Scrivy. That nightmare fuel you got running through your veins... hey, I know, Princess Sunshine. If you really want to understand, why don't you take a little taste of Scrivy, too? He likes it, don't you?” “Go away, demon.” Luna growled, and Pinkamena glowered over at the sapphire mare before Luna shook her head and snapped: “We are not like thou! This is no time for thy games and riddles, Scrivy is... is...” “Scrivy needs help, and that's what I want to do. Help him.” Pinkamena cut her off quietly, and the demon lost her grin for a moment, a strange softness showing through her features as her eyes turned to Scrivener, before she quickly grinned again, hiding her emotions under her shark-like poker face as she murmured: “It ain't my fault that the bastard needs a rough shove or two.” Scrivener only smiled faintly across at Pinkamena, and the demon looked silently back at her best friend for a few moments before shaking her head and muttering: “Look, I don't care either way, I'm just saying you guys are all trying too goddamn hard. And I guess I'm pissed off that in a few days you're planning to go off and save some world or something without me.” “Maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll just want to destroy part of the world this time. Or be in the middle of building their death ray, I dunno.” Scrivener said blandly, and Pinkamena gave him a mild look as Luna sighed in exasperation. “Hey, I can be hopeful. And Celestia, I... we can do this now if you want to. I'm already achy as hell, might as well go all-in.” Celestia nodded slowly as Luna sighed and dropped her head, Twilight reaching up to squeeze her shoulder soothingly as the sapphire mare mumbled: “Wonderful. Thou art an idiot, Scrivener Blooms. And thou art... I do not know, Pinkamena. Thou art... mean.” “I feel kind of sorry for you if that's the best you can manage right now, Nightmare Moon.” Pinkamena dropped herself down on her haunches beside Scrivener, then she looked mildly at Celestia when the ivory winged unicorn cleared her throat pointedly. “Hey, I ain't moving. I might as well watch, my little girl's got the tumor entertained upstairs. Besides, I don't mind a little blood splattering on me now and then. Not when it's as rich as Scrivy's here.” The charcoal stallion sighed and hung his head as Celestia shook her own slowly, but then she simply turned her attention to Scrivener Blooms as she began calmly: “I'm going to start with a basic physical exam again, and then I want to scan you from head-to-hooves, and perhaps take a few blood samples... Twilight, maybe you could go tell Antares what's going on, it's going to take a while. I also need you to get me a specimen sample kit, but take your time. I want to be very thorough.” Scrivener slumped further as Twilight hesitantly nodded, then gave a supportive smile to Luna before the Lich slipped away. Pinkamena licked her lips greedily, looking at Scrivener like he was a delicious morsel to be gobbled down, and Celestia smiled supportively even as her little sister glared up at her. “Don't worry. It'll be over quickly. But we have to know.” Top ↑